Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Shares Down 0.4% – Here’s What Happened

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) fell 0.4% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $69.67 and last traded at $69.85. 2,805,863 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 13,919,604 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.12.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on KO. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 target price on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Coca-Cola presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.24.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The company has a market capitalization of $299.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $66.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.53.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Coca-Cola’s payout ratio is currently 82.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 19,058 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.56, for a total transaction of $1,344,732.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total transaction of $1,806,547.19. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 52,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,749,745.02. The trade was a 32.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rice Partnership LLC raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 102,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,397,000 after purchasing an additional 6,793 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 87.7% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 18,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,132,000 after purchasing an additional 8,499 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,615,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,271,885,000 after purchasing an additional 4,013,996 shares during the last quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Coca-Cola during the 3rd quarter valued at $738,000. Finally, Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. now owns 158,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,419,000 after buying an additional 13,110 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Coca-Cola

The Coca-Cola Company, a beverage company, manufactures, markets, and sells various nonalcoholic beverages worldwide. The company provides sparkling soft drinks, sparkling flavors; water, sports, coffee, and tea; juice, value-added dairy, and plant-based beverages; and other beverages. It also offers beverage concentrates and syrups, as well as fountain syrups to fountain retailers, such as restaurants and convenience stores.